Chris Palko

The Daily Caller is ranking the 100 conservative friendliest counties in America, and unveiling 20 a day each day this week. Click here to see numbers 81-100. The conservative rankings were determined using the following criteria:

How counties have voted in the past two presidential elections

Median household income, factoring in cost of living

Home ownership percentage

Married family percentage

Civilian veteran percentage

State unionization laws, whether a right-to-work state or mandatory union state

State tax burden–state income taxes, factoring in available deductions

State concealed weapons laws, ease of carrying weapon legally

State weekly religious attendance, as measured by Pew

State abortion laws, as measured by Americans United for Life

Intangibles, such things as a long conservative history, an ingrained military culture, prominent right-wing politicians

A “county” must be a county-level unit, which includes parishes in Louisiana, independent cities in Virginia and boroughs/municipalities in Alaska, and the population must be over 50,000 as of 2008.

Here is part two, numbers 61 to 80 (click for slideshow). On Friday, we will reveal the top 20 conservative-friendly counties in the nation. And check back in a few weeks for our liberal 100.

80. Hunterdon County, N.J.
Largest municipality: Raritan Township

Hunterdon County is one of the three counties in northern New Jersey that are reliably Republican, all of which border Pennsylvania. Hunterdon County is the wealthiest of them, and has the single highest property taxes in the nation. And New Jersey is not very conservative in its state regulations, with some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws. The new Christie administration could change some of that.

79. Fort Bend County, Texas
Largest city: Sugar Land

The most politically relevant fact about Fort Bend County is that in 1984, a former exterminator named Tom DeLay was elected to the House of Representatives here. DeLay helped transition a former conservative Democratic stronghold to Republicanism. The second most politically relevant fact about Fort Bend County is that it is a melting pot, as it likely is a minority-majority county. While this heavily affluent county isn’t as Republican as some of the other counties on the list, it is mostly run by conservatives.

78. St. Charles County, Mo.
Largest city: O’Fallon

St. Louis has continually expanded beyond its small base on the Mississippi River. While St. Louis County has long since surpassed the city of St. Louis, now even exurban St. Charles County, at least 10 to 15 miles from the outer limits of St. Louis City, is likely to surpass the city in population in time for the next census. St. Charles is the wealthiest county in Missouri, and has a high number of home owners and married families. The area has a gun culture, and contains a contemporary extension of St. Louis’s strong Germanic religious heritage.

77. Okaloosa County, Fla.
Largest city: Fort Walton Beach

Okaloosa County is the center of what is referred to as the “Redneck Riviera,” the Florida Panhandle beaches known for their quartz white sand and family friendly beaches. The main attraction here is Destin, a rapidly expanding beach resort. It has gone more than 70 percent Republican in the last two presidential elections and has many retired military personnel, mainly from Pensacola next door.

76. Morgan County, Ind.
Largest city: Martinsville

This is one of several “doughnut” counties that ring Indianapolis that make this list. Like the others, Morgan County is 60 to 70 percent Republican, and has far above national average levels of home ownership and married families. The county is southwest of Indianapolis and is only beginning to see suburbanization. Its most famous native is John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach.

Here is another of the newly developing suburban Twin Cities counties showing up on the list. These exurban pioneers are also changing the political climate of their state, giving George W. Bush more than 60 percent of the vote in 2004. More than 85 percent of the county consists of home owners, among the highest in the nation. The former tracts devoted to farming have been transformed only in the past two decades, and more growth promises to be forthcoming.

74. Washington County, Wisc.
Largest city: West Bend

Wisconsin is a traditionally left-leaning upper Midwestern state that is shifting right in its newly developing suburbs. Eastern Wisconsin is now the Republican base of the state, containing nearly all of the counties that Barack Obama failed to win there. Washington County is northwest of Milwaukee and has meshed together a long-standing rural German conservative tradition with strong suburban growth. Local cultural conservatism was embodied by last year’s fight over library books in the main library in West Bend.

73. Kendall County, Ill.
Largest city: Yorkville

This is the only county from Illinois to make the list. Although part of a slow-growing northern state, Kendall is growing faster than essentially all Sun Belt counties. It has one of the highest percentages of married families in the country and is full of upper-middle-class comfort. It only narrowly voted for home state candidate Barack Obama. Illinois has some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws.

The main fact of life in Pensacola is the presence of Pensacola Naval Air Station, the main base for training naval aviators. Pensacola is also part of the Florida Panhandle’s strong evangelical Protestant tradition. The last Democrat the county has voted for at the presidential level was John F. Kennedy.

71. Coweta County, Ga.
Largest city: Newnan

Georgia has more counties than any other state except Texas, meaning that the expanding amoeba known as the Atlanta metropolitan area now reaches 28 counties according to the Census Bureau. Metro Atlanta has perhaps the most conservative suburbs in the nation, and the first of eight suburban Atlanta counties to make this list is Coweta County. It is part of the southern suburbs, which have been underdeveloped in comparison with the northern suburban corridor. Coweta is more than 70 percent Republican, like many of the suburban counties.

I’m surprised that DuPage County in Illinois isn’t considered a conservative county for purposes of this list. With the exception of this past presidential election, it has gone GOP for decades. It’s considered one of the largest GOP counties in the country.

They’ll get around to it. Once they get through all of Atlanta’s 28 suburban counties. Just be patient.

srshapro

The criteria you have chosen to identify conservative friendly counties propagates a Left-Right approach to looking at problems facing our nation that is not helpful. And, I really don’t like the assumption that Conservatism somehow has a monopoly on strong families and service to our country. I am a veteran with 34 years service. I have been married for over 30 years. I live in a county where most of the economy depends on strong defense spending. Yet, like many of my neighbors in this western Washington county, I consider myself progressive on many of the issues. I agree with much of what I read in these pages and would like to find common ground. Continuing to look at the issues through a Left-Right lense polarizes the electorate and keeps us at the mercy of the special interests who use the politics of divisiveness to keep us from uniting to create a real grass roots political force.